Ok folks. The whole Burger King Coq Roq campaign annoys me. But a new fast food campaign strategy is just McWeird.

First, the chubby clown Ronald McDonald started showing up with smaller shoes, slimmed down, and doing all things athletic (sans shake-monster Grimace). Okay, I think it’s a bit silly - the clown plays basketball and he snowboards - but I get it.

This new Japanese campaign - I just don’t get. Ronald now appears to be a young, sexy woman wearing an outfit that is similar in its color to the clown’s.

But, get this (from the MediaGuardian.co.uk

…the man behind the campaign insists he did not create a female Ronald McDonald - but merely appropriated his instantly recognisable outfit.

Hidekazu Sato, known by his nickname Kazoo, the associate creative director at Beacon Communications - a joint venture of Leo Burnett and Dentsu - said the costume was so recognisable it was a mnemonic - a design that people would instantly associate with McDonald’s.

“We devised the costume and took the red and white stripes and the yellow, which were recognised and converted them into a stylish dress,” Kazoo said via a translator.

“We were assuming that even if we didn’t include the McDonald’s logo and even if the model was a beautiful caucasian just those colours of the mnemonic design would wake up people’s association with McDonald’s.”

“The important point is we didn’t change Ronald himself - we played around with his costume.”

“The customers are calling her the female Ronald but that was not our intention,” Kazoo said.

OKaaaaaaay. So…it is supposedly still Ronald.

Kazoo goes on to say in the article, “In its favour was the strong Japanese culture of costume play, an underground scene of adults dressing up as cartoon characters…It was rated number one likeable among high school girls, a wonderful surprise. We were able to capture the young group as well as capture a more aspirational image for McDonald’s.”"

Wow. You go, Mickey D. Well, the marketing maven applauds you for stepping out of the box. But, I have a feeling the woman who is playing the new Ronald doesn’t eat a whole lot of the fast food you are pushing.

I’d LOVE to hear your comments on this one!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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If you haven’t tried Amazon’s new search engine, A9 provides a pretty satisfying user experience. At first, it appears to be like the other search engines…but dare to go deeper, my friend. Once you start searching, you’ll discover results that are well organized and extremely helpful.

You can search by categories - many, many, many categories. You can look up Web and Images like Google. And, you can also search the Movies, Reference, People, Indeed Jobs, Gaming Reviews, NYTimes, and a whole lot more. There are at least 200 categories. You can customize your searches with your favorites.

And…get this…A9 has a Blog search function!

Let me just put it this way - if you are a research junkie like yours truly, don’t try this out for the first time unless you have a few extra hours on your time. It’s quite addictive!

Input a term like “Wendy Maynard” {hee! hee!}, or “home ownership” or “Homeland Security” or “Abbott and Costello.” Then, click on various categories to see what comes up. Fascinating!

You can choose to “show” or “hide” various categories so you can customize the specific media that is most relevant to your search. For instance, if you only want to search Movies, you can hide everything else. If you want to compare Books and Movies, these columns appear next to each other.

In our increasing deluge of information, we need new information categorization tools to help us wade through the flood. A9 is just the thing.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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On the Internet, even a dog can be an expert. This is such a wonderful New Yorker cartoon that I wanted to share it with you:

Cartoon by Peter Steiner; page 61 of July 5, 1993; The New Yorker

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When you are at a seminar, workshop, or other networking event, are you using it for its full marketing potential? No? Then, here are some powerful suggestions to make your next event a money-making endeavour:

1. Get Business Cards: A lot of people think their objective is to pass out business cards like mad. So, they run around an event, throwing their cards in front of people and sprinting onward to the next table. If this sounds like you, ditch this behavior right now!

Instead, ask other people for their cards. Ask them about their business and hobbies. These are connections to people. Honor that fact.

2. Show up: It’s so easy to check out when another person is speaking. When you are chatting with someone, be polite and say a few words, and then listen to them. Who knows, this could be your newest big client, best friend, or spouse (hey, it happens!).

3. Take notes. Now, when you return to your table or during the next break, write a note on the back of the business cards you just collected to cue about the conversation. This will help you remember later.

4. Organize your cards: When you have a little time, place all of your cards into categories such as a) potential customer, b) referrer, c) vendor, d) general, or e) icky/never, ever call in a gazillion years. Follow up on the first two as soon as you get home. Follow up with the vendors and general categories within a couple of weeks. The icky category can be used in the cat litter box.

5. Leave your gang: If you are at the seminar with co-workers or people you already know, spend some time with them if you must. But make it a priority to build some brand new bonds, as well.

6. Follow Up! Pay attention - this is the most important part! When you get home, take another day off, or set a big chunk of time aside to follow up with the people you met. Send friendly e-mails out to all those people in the first 2 categories you made in step 4. Use the notes on the back (aren’t you glad you did that now?) to add a personal touch to each e-mail. A phone call or a hand-written note is an even better touch.

Use seminars and other events to their FULL potential. Powerful people speak at and attend these things. Yes, you will learn amazing things to fill your brain. But remember to fill your rolodex with amazing people, and you’ll be astounded at the added impact these powerful relationships will bring you.

Do you have more tips on how to work a seminar? Leave your feedback in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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I get a lot of e-zines in my Inbox and I visit a lot of blogs and websites. I enjoy and remember some more than others.

The ones that really get my attention are the ones where someone isn’t afraid to let their personality show. I love to learn about a person through their writing. And, I am more likely to buy from that person because I feel like I know them.

What I have found is that in my own business, on my blog, and in my e-zine, the more I let my personality SHINE through, the more people respond. I love when I get e-mails or comments from my readers telling me they enjoyed - or disagreed with - my latest article.

And so, I encourage you to put more of YOU into your website, articles, blog, mailings, and so on. How can you do this? It’s simple! Here are a few tips:

1. Tell ‘em what’s going on. What happened to you this week? Tell a funny story about your pet. Did your kid get a new tooth? Did you have an epiphany in the shower this morning? Don’t be afraid to share these things. Your customers will appreciate it.

2. Ask your customers and readers. Is there something in your life you are working on? Why not ask for help. For instance, are you thinking of offering a new product? Ask your customers what they really want. You can also post an online opinion poll about something using Survey Monkey.

3. Take a stand. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion. Make a statement for or against something and your readers will take notice. Reader comments, debates, and opinions can add a lively element to a blog, forum, or your inbox! Ask for feedback.

4. Pictures speak a thousand words. Pictures immediately draw people in. Post a picture of your new hairdo, your dogs halloween costume, or your newest business team member.

5. Tell a story. Describe a challenge and how you solved it. Mention a customer you helped and what his or her results were. Describe a recent event you attended or sponsored. Talk about your staff and what is going on with them.

There are many ways to draw your readers into your communications with them. Once you start infusing your marketing materials with YOU, you will find your customers are engaged and give you more feedback and comments. Over time, your sales will go up and your customers will be more loyal. This is because they have a relationship with you - a real, live person.

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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Something very exciting happened today. And I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

My company Kinesis just found out that we won first place in the corporate identity category from the American Design Awards. We were selected from a pool of many other very talented creative firms – both national and international. I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are!

You can see our entry for yourself. Past recipients of the American Design Award have included materials designed for companies such as Nike, Whirlpool, Pabst Brewing Company, Bacardi, Hershey Foods, and Honda.

This accolade was awarded for rebranding Henry Calvin Fabrics, an international company that offers top-of-the-line fabrics such as silks, damasks, linens, and chenilles. Kinesis created a new brand for Henry Calvin to match the elegance and sophistication of its gorgeous products. Rendered in warm colors, the company’s new stationery and website were developed to resemble a tapestry.

This award is particularly meaningful because it is a peer award – the judges are also designers. It affirms what Kinesis is doing for our clients is of national caliber! We created Henry Calvin’s logo, stationery, and website entirely in-house and it was spearheaded by our amazing Senior Designer.

Thanks for letting me toot our horn and thanks for your continued support!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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Want to see how a certain typeface will look on your website or blog? Try it out at Typetester. You can test and compare up to 3 at once in regular, bold, italic, small caps, and more. It is designed to make a web developer’s life easier, but it is also helpful if you want to try out a specific look on your site.

Happy Monday!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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Many of us blog to promote our business, our services, and/or our products. Others blog because we have something important to share, to criticize, or to review. There are a lot of reasons people blog that I had never considered. A list is posted on Wikiquote, a site that aggregates quotations on the Internet.

Here are some of the entries I thought were interesting:

“I blog because it’s the easiest, most cost-effective way to publish.”

“I blog, because inevitably someone else will challenge my will to do so.”

“‘Why do I blog? Because I’ve always liked to dance. I’m light on my feet and I like the clunk, clunk of the shoes. Oh, wait a minute … that’s “clog”

“Why do I blog? Because I’m far too egotistical and obsessed with the idea that my life is a movie starring myself.”

“I blog because I get so damn mad at the news, and I carry it around inside of me with no place to let it out–”

“I blog because I can, and because I want to participate in the greatest forum of free speech ever created by man.”

“I blog because I am a packrat. I hate losing things; ideas, papers, movie ticket stubs, everything. I can’t stand to lose things. … “

And why does the Marketing Maven blog? Because I can’t stop writing about the ideas in my head; because I like knowing that people read my ideas; and because I like to build new relationships with people I may never meet - even if they are for a few seconds while they read something here.

If you want to read more of “I blog because…” go to this entry.

Are you a blogger? So, tell me…why do YOU blog?

Have a great weekend!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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